Think about it
- Try to learn what triggers the biting.
- Try to figure out when the biting behavior occurs. Is your child hungry or tired? Is there a problem between your child and the person being bitten?
- Look at the feeling your child is displaying when biting.
Act quickly Respond quickly and firmly. Say, "No! No biting!"
Remove your child from the situation and give your attention to the person who was bitten, washing the area and making sure the person is OK.
Teach about biting
- Never bite your child back in order to teach her it hurts. All that does is make children think that biting is something that is acceptable to do.
- If you think your child doesn’t understand that it hurts you can ask him to gingerly place his teeth on his own arm to see how it feels.
- Be careful not to call your child a "biter" - she will live up to it!
- Explain that biting hurts, using no more than one word for each year of your child’s life. Two year olds can be told, "Biting hurts." Three year olds can be told "That hurt Child’s Name."
- Let the "biter" keep a small bag of carrots in his pocket. Encourage your child to use words when angry and then bite the carrot.
- Problem solve: Ask your child what she could have done instead of biting. "Next time you want Tanya to move what can you do? Can you ask her?" or, "You and Tyler both want the truck. Can you play with it together?"
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Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management (614-752-9595).
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